DRIFTWOOD BISTRO
“The Driftwood Bistro" is offering a full menu on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday through Thursday the tasting room will have a weekday menu of items made fresh daily. The Bistro is now serving Sunday Brunch from 11:00 to1:00. For the Sunday brunch menu and more information on the Bistro you can go to their website at: www.thedriftwoodbistro.com. Bottled wine can be purchased from the tasting room to take to the Bistro.
Unfortunately that means no more bringing in ice chests and picnic baskets. We hope everyone will support the new food business. In addition to the menu the Bistro will be offering onsite catering.
Winner for Best Texas Wine
PRIME Living - the luxury lifestyle magazine of Texas Is thrilled to reveal that our readers have officially awarded bragging rights in our annual Readers’ Choice Awards! to Driftwood Estate Winery
2022 Awards at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
2017 Alicante Bouschet (Newsom Vineyard) Double Gold Best of Class
2018 Lone Star Cab (Estate Bottled) Gold
2021 Orange Muscat (Newsom Vineyard) Gold
2021 Pinot Grigio (Newsom Vineyard) Gold
2017 Reserve Sangiovese (Newsom Vineyard) Gold
2017 Syrah (Estate Bottled) Gold
2017 Malbec (Newsom Vineyard) Silver
2023 Awards at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
2019 Alamo Red Texas High Plains Newsom Vineyards Double Gold Best of Class
2019 Syrah Texas Double Gold Best of Class
2022 Dry Rose Texas Hill Country Double Gold Best of Class
2019 Tempranillo Texas High Plains Newsom Vineyards Double Gold
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Texas High Plains Newsom Vineyards Gold
2019 Cabernet Franc Texas High Plains Newsom Vineyards Silver
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Texas Hill Country Lone Star Silver
2019 Longhorn Red Texas Silver
2019 Merlot Texas High Plains Newsom Vineyards Silver
2019 Sangiovese Texas Silver
Wine Walk: A dozen Texas wines best California wines at annual competition
Ron Saikowski / Wine Walk
Feb. 23, 2023
California wines were an unknown until “The Judgment of Paris in 1976” when unknown California wines were judged against the best French wines by a distinguished panel of French wine judges. A Newsweek Reporter by the name of George Taber covered what journalists called a “nothing event” since everyone knew the French wines under French wine judges would beat the persnicketies off these unknown California wines. Chateau Montelena Chardonnay took top white wine and Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon took top red. Taber’s eight-paragraph article in his magazine opened the world to California wines.
Fast forward to January 2023 in San Francisco in what many believe is America’s wine city of choice. The San Francisco Chronicle hosts a well-respected wine competition using mostly California wine judges. Twelve unknown Texas wines took top varietal wines besting those well-known California wines. This is big since these unknowns from Texas beat out the best that California had to offer. Those 12 included:
• Driftwood Estate Winery 2022 Dry Rose (blend)
• Driftwood Estate Winery 2019 Syrah
• Driftwood Estate Winery 2019 Alamo Red (red blend)
Texas wines also earned 22 Double Gold Medals and 46 Gold Medals. This special recognition by the panels of California wine judges parallels the conclusions of those French wine judges in 1976. This recognition is outstanding, especially in light that Texas’ first winery since the end of Prohibition started in 1976 when the Judgement of Paris occurred. California wineries immediately re-started in1933 when Prohibition ended providing California with 43 years to get it right for the 1976 Judgment of Paris. By 2005, Texas had 50 wineries. This slow growth evolved into an $11 billion industry. Both the quantity and quality of Texas wines has increased over the last 47 years into a Texas wine industry that the world can appreciate as a producer of outstanding wines.
The best Texas wines are found in the local wineries all over Texas with those hand-crafted wines being of superior quality than those wines found in retail stores. To find the really great Texas wines, go to the wineries where these boutique wines that are handcrafted are sold. Those $30 bottles of Texas wines will compare to those $80 bottles of prestigious Napa wines. I hope that you as the wine consumer realize that Texas wineries make some of the best wines in the country. Those top wines are found mostly at those Texas wineries.